Kawasaki Versys 1000
Highest power in test and road-biased set up make the Versys a sporty choice
Wet. Wet. Wet! No, not the 1982 band then led by Marti Pellow, but a statement of the weather on our three-day trip to the Cotswolds. Let’s be fair here, 75% of the ride down and 50% of the ride back was in dry weather but the rest – oh dear!
What a great test for the bikes though! All four were made to be ridden, not cosseted for that Sunday dry run (yeah, I know we all love them). In spite of the weather, the Cotswolds in the autumn with the glorious colours of the ever-changing leaves was a real joy.
A no-brainer for old diddy legs here – with the 840mm seat height, the Versys was the lowest, and the one for me. Sitting on the others, and riding the Honda and the Suzuki for a short period, made me appreciate the lower seat height of the Kawasaki even more. The Triumph, even after Mikko had adjusted the seat height to its lowest position, was a real tippy toe job, so for safety’s sake I gave riding this one a miss.
Out of the four bikes tested, the Versys 1000 was the most obviously road-biased bike. I would even go as far as to put it in the sports touring category rather than call it an adventure bike. The four-cylinder engine has the most power of the ones tested here, the chassis seems to love a ‘spirited’ ride, and the 17in wheels with sport touring tyres were suited to road use.
Fortunately, the Versys comes with an adjustable windscreen, and once set to my liking using the two knurled knobs (and put in the lowest of five positions) the weather protection was reasonable. Perhaps the larger screen from the SE model would help?
With 120bhp on tap, this fourcylinder bike was so easy to ride either using the gearbox to obtain maximum revs or just bimbling along at 30mph in sixth gear. Second to third gear, either up or down the box was sometimes a little vague, so a very positive gearchange had to be made. Further up the box there were no problems, even on clutchless changes. Overall, on this three-day test the bike returned an average of 51mpg.
The two twin-cylinder bikes that I rode on this test certainly had to be stirred on their gearboxes to alleviate those low rev vibes. For me great fun on dry days, but not as easy to ride as the Versys.
The suspension, whilst being adjustable both front and rear, was left as supplied. The rear hand-operated preload adjustability once dialled in would be an asset for two-up riding.
The screen is pretty basic, but provided all the information this rider would need. The rev counter was the most prominent shown and could have been reduced in size to give the mph and gear positions more prominence. Raindrops on this small screen can make the small digits almost unreadable and cause a lack of concentration on the road.
Wide handlebars make for easy manoeuvrability when moving the bike around.
Never once in three days of riding did I feel the need to move backwards on the seat or stand up on the pegs to relieve the nether regions. A testament to the comfort of the seat.
The silencer, whilst fairly muted below 5000rpm, really belts out a sweet, raucous noise when the motor is pushed near the redline. This bike came with a centre stand and was found most useful when the bike cleaning chore time came... bliss.
For me, heated grips and a hand cover set would make this bike suitable as an all-round 12-monther. At circa £235 for the heated grips and £113 for the hand covers, my requirements are not cheap, but they are both a must have for me. An alternative could be the £199 Keis heated gloves that we tested.
Now, I have already said how comfortable the seat is, but a 20mm lower and narrower unit is something
I would like to try – £354 (OUCH) for something that might or might not suit me. I reckon some serious consideration would have to be made here.
Not including the lower seat, the bike with my extras would be circa £11,648 without any fitting charges. The higher spec SE model starts from £14,699, and comes with the heated grips and hand covers, as well as items such as quick shifter, ride modes, cornering lights, TFT dash, large windscreen and electronic suspension.
However, since our test, Kawasaki has announced that from 2021 the base model Versys will be replaced by the new S model that gets all the goodies of the current SE apart from the electronic suspension. At £12,999 it’s looking pretty good value.